David Croft and Martin Brundle hail ‘super’ overtaking move from ‘brave’ F1 driver in Las Vegas

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Lewis Hamilton pulled off a super move on Pierre Gasly during the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but it could have ended badly had the Frenchman not been on his toes.

There was plenty of overtaking on the streets of Sin City as the penultimate race of the season lived up to expectations.

David Croft and Martin Brundle were covering the event for Sky Sports F1 and saw a serious amount of action.

Anyone who set their alarms from an early start in Europe was treated to a fantastic race.

Max Verstappen initially took the lead from Charles Leclerc going into turn one, but was given a penalty for gaining an advantage by going off the track.

Two safety cars played their part in a difficult race for the strategists, but once again Red Bull made the right calls.

Verstappen raced off into the distance to earn his 18^th win of the season with Leclerc pipping Sergio Perez to second on the final lap of the race.

Someone who would have been expecting to challenge for a podium at the start of the weekend was Lewis Hamilton.

His Mercedes looked in better shape than in Brazil two weeks ago but a poor qualifying session saw him starting in 10^th.

Hamilton made the most of his car’s performance in Las Vegas and pulled off a special move on Pierre Gasly going into the final corner.

It’s an unusual place on the track to try and make up a position and could have gone horribly wrong if the Alpine driver hadn’t been checking his mirrors.

Hamilton pulls off brilliant move on Gasly in Las Vegas

The 27-year-old’s tyres were starting to go off and Croft said: “I did think Gasly was in trouble a few laps ago and he really is tumbling down the order now.

“He’s been passed by Fernando Alonso and I think he’s about to be passed by Lewis Hamilton.

Brundle added: “Into that final corner? Brave,” before Croft showed his appreciation for the move: “Hello! I’m glad Pierre Gasly saw Hamilton coming there and I think for one moment he didn’t know he was there.

Martin Brundle made it clear what the consequences might have been if Gasly hadn’t been aware of his surroundings: “That would have been an airplane crash if those two connected in their at just under a couple of hundred [miles per hour].

Croft concluded: “Fully committed, super move, up into ninth place.”

Gasly and Hamilton will both ultimately be disappointed they didn’t make more of the pace they had in Las Vegas.

The Mercedes driver will know he should have been challenging the top three, with Gasly had to watch Esteban Ocon race off into the distance and pick up a superb fourth place.

It means both Alpine drivers are in with a shot of finishing the season ahead of their teammates with the gap between them now just four points.